Two-time world champion Wang Xiaoli is retiring from the national team, says a report on Sports Sina.

The 26-year-old had been suffering from injuries this year and even had to undergo elbow surgery in May, a few days after the Sudirman Cup competition, which she missed. Wang resumed competition at the World Championships three months after her surgery, but she and Yu Yang, winners in 2011 and 2013, lost to team-mates Tian Qing / Zhao Yunlei in the quarter-final.

Wang told Sina that she started to think of retirement after the World Championships: “Recovery didn’t go very well after the surgery and I continued to have problems catching up with the training in the national team. I started to think of retiring after the World Championships. My departure would also make things easier for the national team in forming new pairings. After speaking to our coaches and my family, I decided to retire.”

Wang won the World Junior Championship in 2006 with Ma Jin and later several major international titles after the two joined the senior national team. However, it was when she was paired with Olympic champion Yu Yang in 2010 that her career really took off. Wang and Yu took the international women’s doubles field by storm, winning five Superseries titles and Asian Games silver in their first four months as a pair, then following it up with a phenomenal 11 major titles in 2011. She finishes her career ranked sixth across all disciplines in career Superseries titles.

“It’s a pity to retire [when it’s less than a year from the Rio Olympic Games] but I have no choice but to accept it,” Wang told Sports Sina. She revealed that she will return to Wuhan on New Year’s day to recuperate from her injuries. On her future plans, Wang said, “I still hope to work closely with badminton as I still love the sport a lot.”

All of us at Badzine wish Wang Xiaoli a successful recovery from her injuries and all the best in her future endeavours.